ECONOMYNEXT- Sri Lanka seeking greater regulation of homestays as demand grows, including to protect small children form pedophiles, State Minister for Tourism, Diana Gamage said.
“There is a lot of demand for homestays but this should be regulated,” Minister Gamage told reporters in Colombo.
“There should be some criteria to lend a room to a foreigner so that it does not affect the home environment and also the foreigner.
“For example, if a pedophile comes from a foreign country and stays in a home with small children, it is dangerous.”
There were no immediate details on how pedophiles would be regulated.
Homestays as well as letting rooms is now popular across the world and the are easily marketed through booking platforms like Air B and B.
From the side of tourists, booking platforms have a rating system which post-stay guest reviews which subject the hotels or other accommodation to rigorous continuous merit regulation and rankings, unlike periodic inspections done by state agencies.
The star rating system for hotels which now come under coercive state agencies in many countries, originated in the US as free market initiatives involving the Mobil oil company which supported a star rating system and the American Automobile Association which started its diamond rating system. (Colombo/May05/2024)